Cardinal Martino and his Common Ground on Four Points of Social Justice

Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, spoke in Havana on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Cuban National Ecclesial Meeting:

(The Church's social doctrine is) a formidable instrument of openness and dialogue with believers of other religions and with all (people) of good will.

His four point plan, as reported by Zenit:

1. Life must be protected from conception to its natural end. He emphasized the importance of the family in this area, and said that the family is the key to the future of humanity.

2. Hunger and poverty must be eliminated, and this requires effort on the part of wealthy countries, and honest and intelligent cooperation on the part of developing countries.

3. Peace must be attained through the attainment of justice, reconciliation, dialogue and an end of the arms race.

4. Freedom, especially religious freedom, the foundation of all other freedoms, must be granted to all.